The Hunt
by Aaronna
Summary: This follows my story The Cloak, but can stand alone. "That didn't go as planned. Well the plan itself worked flawlessly, but in the end it was a disaster….What was the plan? Get Merlin to be quiet during a hunt by making him wear a cloak." Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin.


That didn't go as planned. Well the plan itself worked flawlessly, but in the end it was a disaster…. What was the plan? Get Merlin to be quiet during a hunt by making him wear a cloak.

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They had set out at dawn and since it was late fall Arthur made Merlin wear an old cloak that had been in the back of the royal wardrobe for longer than Arthur could remember. Gwaine and Percival chuckled at how the royal arse thought he had sweet talked the manservant into wearing the cloak, but Merlin was more than willing to wear the old thing.

This hunt was a first for the group. There were to be no horses and everyone had to carry their own gear. Another new fact, on this trip they were going to live off the land, no supplies were brought with them. Merlin was beyond happy not to have to carry the prat's gear. He was also happy to be warm out on a hunt for a change.

Later on, Arthur heard the large knight and the servant discussing hunting with a sling. Unbeknownst to the king, Merlin was deadly accurate with a stone and sling, so when he heard that Percival was asking the idiot for advice on the best types of stones the king burst out laughing. There was a sudden whooshing noise and then the clot pole felt a sharp pain on his shoulder. He whorled around and saw his knights biting back their laughter and Percival attempting to hide Merlin behind his large frame.

The day was filled with little moments of Merlin having talents none of them knew he had. By lunchtime they had caught no game, but Merlin laughed at them and pulled out a line and hook, found a stick to use as a rod and sent Percival to find some bait as he made poles for the other three. They ended up eating a stew made of wild roots, fish and some herbs they gathered from the stream's bank.

After the stew was eaten, Arthur split the group. He and Gwaine would follow the stream to the east while Percival and Merlin would follow it to the west. There were to meet back where they ate before sun set. Merlin grinned as soon as the king turned his back, this was going to be fun.

Merlin had been raised to hunt only for food, but he was very good at finding game. To give Percival a chance to practice with his sling, Merlin climbed up into a tree and cried out in the voice of his namesake. Rabbit raced around the forest floor looking for a place to hide from the hawk.

By sunset Percival, with Merlin's help, had caught eight rabbits. On their way back to the rendezvous point they began foraging for roots and herbs to go with the coneys. They were having the time of their lives until the deer bound in front of them.

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Strength and Courage were having no luck. They had been hoping bring in some big game since Merlin wasn't there to scare away the prey. The only animal they saw was a squirrel and it was out of range by the time they got their bearings. They were heading back when they saw a doe on the other side of the stream. The pair took off after the deer as quietly as they could.

Arthur was not about let this doe get away. When the hunting part had split up, Percival and Merlin had decided to only use slings. The large knight offered his crossbow to the king, who gladly accepted it. So, Arthur is rushing after the deer with two loaded crossbows, he knew that if he was quick enough, even if he missed on the first shot he still had a chance of bringing her down.

Just as they almost had her, she leapt the other bank and froze. Arthur took aim and fired, missed, shot again missing the doe entirely. Gwaine brought her down after she ran a few yards. The pair grinned and crossed the stream. Arthur and Gwaine went to claim the latter's prize. Arthur decided to go retrieve his bolts while they still had light.

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Arthur had never seen just how quiet Merlin could be, but how his manservant was quiet now, that king had no clue.

The king and drunkard knight had walked back to where the doe had crossed the stream and stopped dead. There, hidden in the tall weeds of the bank, was the other half of their party. Percival had a bolt lodged in his left bicep, but what really shocked them was how much blood there was on the giant's hands as he tried to stem the bleeding from Merlin's side where the king's other bolt was resting.

"Gods! Merlin!" The king shouted as he rushed to help the knight with the wound. Gwaine dropped the deer and took off toward Camelot shouting about getting help. Luckily Merlin had pointed out herb all day as one he often collected for Gaius and what their uses were. As soon as Arthur began placing pressure around the shaft Percival stepped back and pulled the bolt from his arm, crushed some nearby yarrow into the wound openings, and bound it closed with a strip from the base of his cloak before returning to Arthur to help with his friend.

It took them awhile to get the bleeding under control. Merlin had been awake the whole time giving them instructions through gritted teeth. He had learned long ago to bring medical supplies with him, so he had them pour some type of clear liquor over the base of the bolt before pull it out. Once there was nothing in the way, he told them to increase the pressure on the wound until Gwaine returned with Gaius.

The two men took turns keeping pressure on the hole in Merlin's side. During Percival's turn Merlin talked Arthur through properly clearing and dressing the large knight's arm. The washing was painful. The clear liquor they had used on Merlin's wound burned as it was poured over the rough edges of the wound. The honey soothed the burning and left the puncture tingling. After the fresh bandage was tied off, Arthur took back over with Merlin and sent Percival to build a fire and get some rest. Percival was in a lot of pain, tired, and terribly worried about his inky haired friend.

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It was nearly midnight when Gwaine returned. Gaius wasted no time getting to work on Merlin. A fire was built for both light and the heat, as the fire Percival had started earlier had gone out and Arthur hadn't had the heart to wake the sleeping giant.

Gaius was amazed at how little blood his ward had actually lost. It had been hours since he was shot and he had only received the most basic of care during that time. The wound was deep, but it had missed anything important.

After about an hour Arthur too had succumbed to sleep despite his best efforts to remain watchful of his friend. He was cold and tired, his cloak had long ago been placed on the injured servant. He hadn't realized how cold he was until he settled down near the fire. The warmth coupled with his exhaustion lead to his body overriding his mind, causing him to fall into a deep, dreamless sleep.

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Arthur woke to the smell of venison stew cooking nearby. For a split second Arthur was going to complement Merlin for waking his gently when he suddenly remembered the previous events. Arthur's eyes shot open as he tried to jump to his feet. The sudden movement coupled with muscle fatigue, a sleepy body, and a few blankets caused the king to trip and collapse before he could completely get to his feet and send his heart racing in his chest.

A weak chuckle cause the blond to assess his surroundings. While he was asleep, a tent had been erected over the unconscious trio. Gwaine and Elyan were seated by the fire, stirring a pot and cutting meat, respectively. Percival was still asleep covered with some blankets and looked worse than he had earlier, as he was sweating profusely. Finally the king's eyes came to rest on the face of his manservant.

Merlin was pale and sweaty from an apparent fever. He was propped up on of saddle bags and covered with a small mountain of blankets. Merlin's face was pinched with pain as he tried not to laugh at the clumsy movements of the royal. Seeing his friend awake and alive calmed the kings racing heart.

Arthur was not sure how long he had been asleep, but what he did know was that he was sore. His arms and back protested the slightest movement thanks to him having been the one keeping pressure on Merlin's wound for hours and then falling asleep without stretching the strained muscles. On top of that he had a headache that rivaled some of his worst hangovers. But Arthur knew he was in better shape than Percival and Merlin.

Elyan wiped off his hands and walked over to his king.

"You might want to take it easy sire. You have a fever and have only been asleep for a little over an hour."

Arthur had assumed that Merlin and Percival's feverish perspiration was due to their injuries, but now it was clear that it was the exposure to the cold that had the three of them warm to the touch.

Next to the fire, Gwaine watched his fiends closely. All three who had been in the woods the whole time had fevers. Arthur was clearly in pain, likely, Gwaine figured, from have been hunched over for most of the night and then sleeping of a mass of birch roots. Percival looked completely wiped out, but was actually better off than one would think for someone who had taken a bolt to the arm. And then there was Merlin. Gaius says that he will be fine as long as an infection does not set in. The tricky part is, if they move the gangly man they risked internal bleeding, but if they don't move him an infection is virtually guaranteed.

Gwaine was drug from his musings by the Leon entering to tent.

"Sire, I see you are awake. Gaius sent me to give you and Percival your bed roles and a draft that should help with the fevers."

Arthur drank the vile tasting concoction and slipped into the role that Elyan had placed on a smoother patch of ground not far from the fire. The potion took effect and the king was soon fast asleep once again.

It took the combined efforts of the three knights to wake Percival enough to drink the draft and lay down on the bed role. Once the silent man was comfortably covered and they were sure Merlin was asleep as well, the three slipped out to discuss with Gaius the best way to get the trio back to Camelot.

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At dawn Leon and Elyan rode back to Camelot. They soon returned with a handful of people to help move the three sleeping forms, a wagon, and more blankets.

Much to Gaius's surprise, all three slept through the entire process of being moved to the wagon as well as the ride back to Camelot, the journey to the physician's chamber, and through the rest of the morning. It was not long after noon when Merlin woke.

Merlin opened his eyes expecting to see the roof of his room, as he was in his own bed, but he was surprised to see he was in the main room, not his. Turning his head he saw Arthur asleep in Gaius's bed and Percival in usual patient cot, both shivering despite the blankets and the roaring fire.

Suddenly a shiver ran through the warlock's body, pulling on his stitches causing him to gasp in pain. He then heard a scraping sound followed by familiar foot falls.

"How are you feeling my friend?" Gwaine asked as he wiped the sweat off the dark haired man's brow.

"Like a downed hawk" Merlin replied with a slight smile.

"Yep. The Princess got himself a hawk and a bear, well that and a case of the shivers." Gwaine chirped as he gazed over the sleeping pair.

"So, Percival and I got eight rabbits, you got a doe, and the prat got the big game…" Merlin stated, fighting sleep. "Did Gaius say anything about whether I am allowed to eat? I don't know how much damage the bolt did and what it hit, but it feels terrible."

Gwaine smirked. "Gaius told me to get you to drink some broth if you felt up to it. He also gave me two drafts for you, one for the pain and the other for the fever and sleep. After you eat you should probably at least take the fever one."

Merlin was barely able to stay awake long enough to finish the bowl of broth, but he was completely asleep before Gwaine could grab the potion off of the work table. A few minutes later, both Percival and Arthur began to groan and stir.

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It took a few days for Arthur to shave the fever, Percival's lasted longer due to a slight infection in his arm, and Merlin was out of commission for three weeks before Gaius allowed him to do light tasks for Arthur.

Arthur would have given Merlin more time if he hadn't seen how bored the man was of being babied by everyone, including Audrey from the kitchens.

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After the whole ordeal there was two things Arthur knew; one, if Merlin hadn't been wearing that cloak the deer wouldn't have landed near the men and two, Merlin was way too quiet when he wears a cloak.


End file.
